Chapter 16 - Part II

Andrew was having trouble keeping his eyes open. It was his turn to keep watch and after the 8-hour shift, he was really exhausted. It was still dark which made it only more difficult. He tossed another log into the fire and watched the sparks make their way into the air. The past few weeks had been better and at the same time harder than the rest of his life. In a way, he had started to think that the freedom had been overrated. Eliana had wanted to be free, she had tried to convince him to escape. All of her stories had been full of promises of a better life. Andrew enjoyed the freedom of choice, the fact he wasn’t ordered around and treated like a worthless piece of dung. And at the same time, he missed the stability, the routine of the life in Sencor.

“You want to take another shift?” Madden asked sitting beside him.

“I’ve been waiting for you to take over for eight hours,” Andrew responded. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“The nights are the hardest,” Madden agreed.

“How long are we gonna do this?” Andrew asked. “We can’t carry Kalbott around with us. We can’t leave him behind. And we definitely can’t stay here while the Emperor is trying to get rid of every existing camp.”

“I don’t know,” Madden responded with a sigh.

Andrew knew of a solution but he didn’t want to say it out loud. He was aware of what everyone thought of the Silt, as they called the prisoners of Sencor. But he didn’t consider himself aggressive or out of control. Quite the opposite. Hurting someone or committing a murder would only prove otherwise.

“I didn’t want to say it but ...” Madden said hesitatingly. “Maybe we should get rid of him.”

Andrew felt relieved he wasn’t the only one thinking it. “It is an option.”

Madden’s face lightened hearing the words. “I know it’s wrong, Andrew, but it would be the easiest way out.”

“How would you do it?” Andrew asked. “Hypothetically,” he added in a hurry.

“Hypothetically?” Madden didn’t think long as if he had already put some thought into it before. “Since we don’t have any weapons ourselves, we could use his knife or just smother him in his sleep.”

“Perhaps,” Andrew said. “Do you think you could put a knife in his chest?”

“I don’t know. It is wrong to kill anyone, no matter what they have done. But to kill in order to survive yourself – that is something I could live with.”

“In a way, that’s what we’ll have to do – choose between us or him,” Andrew agreed.

“He wouldn’t doubt,” Madden said. “If he had the opportunity, he would kill us.”

The last part sounded a bit like a question. Andrew wasn’t sure what Kalbott would do. Was he the loyal servant of his Emperor or was he a coward who had left his family behind in order to save himself?

“I guess we’ll talk more in the morning,” Andrew said finally. “I’ll go get some sleep.”

“Okay. Good night!” Madden said.

Andrew walked over to their sleeping area. Margaret, Rhyn and his mother were all asleep but Grandpa was lying awake.

“You’re not sleeping?” Andrew remarked.

Grandpa smiled. It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten worse but they were in desperate need of a healer. “I’m just used to waking up early,” Grandpa said.

“Well, you should get some sleep. We’ll be on the road again soon,” Andrew said and laid down.

“Will we take the guard with us?” Grandpa said. Did he hear our conversation? Andrew thought but put that thought aside. It was impossible to hear their whispers from that far.

“I don’t know yet,” Andrew answered.

Grandpa nodded and put his head back on the ground. Andrew kept looking at him. Grandpa had always been his idol and role model. He had never known his father and now that mother had finally shared the story of his death, Andrew didn’t know what to think of him. Had he really been a coward or was there something more?

Just as Andrew was falling asleep, he heard a scream. The adrenaline helped him to be up in a matter of seconds. Grandpa was also up and Andrew found it weird how strong he looked despite his health problems and age.

Andrew and Grandpa were both running and Andrew was struggling to keep up with the old man. The scream had been too close to belong to anyone else other than Madden. As they approached the fire, Andrew saw Madden’s lifeless body lying on the ground in a pool of blood, a knife sticking out of his forehead.

Kalbott’s tall figure was hovering over him. His face reflected shock and fear. Suddenly the air was full of light. Andrew was blinded by it and raised his arm to cover his eyes. It seemed like the light was coming from Grandpa’s hands. He was kneeling by Madden, covering his wound with the strange light. He pulled the knife out and tossed it away.

Andrew saw Kalbott covering his eyes, blinded by the sudden bright light. Andrew looked at him and felt disgusted. He picked up the knife Grandpa had thrown into the grass with one goal in his mind.

“Don’t,” he heard Grandpa’s voice. Andrew chose to ignore him. Kalbott had killed Madden, he wanted them all dead. So in return, he deserved to die. Andrew could remember every time he had passed Kalbott on his way to work, he remembered the hate in the guard’s eyes. Kalbott was just a pawn in the Emperor's game but he had made sure that every Silt would feel worthless, like dirt.

The light was starting to fade. Andrew knew he would have to act fast. He was now standing behind Kalbott’s back. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to see the face of the person he was going to kill. He wanted Kalbott to know who killed him but it wasn’t as important as the killing itself. Andrew gathered his strength and allowed the knife to bury itself deep into the flesh. Kalbott cried out loud. The scream startled Andrew. It sounded so much like the one Madden had let out before.

“What have you done, you stupid boy?” Grandpa asked and the light disappeared. Madden’s wound was gone as was the blood from the ground. His chest was moving slowly with air filling his lungs.

Andrew couldn’t believe his eyes. What had just happened? Madden had been dead, there had been a knife sticking out of his head. Kalbott had killed him and now Andrew had killed Kalbott.

Grandpa kneeled beside Kalbott putting his hand on the dead man’s back but the light didn’t come. Grandpa sighed. He had never looked that old.